


Prince

by hongbab



Category: VIXX
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 23:01:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9790961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hongbab/pseuds/hongbab
Summary: “Did you know,” Taekwoon said quietly, “that you look like a prince right now?”





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: drug use
> 
> Recommended songs: Lana Del Rey - [Blue Jeans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRWox-i6aAk) \+ your favourite love and sad songs. Sad love songs, maybe.

In retrospect, everything was incredibly simple at the beginning.

The first time Jaehwan saw Taekwoon at the coffee shop Hakyeon had invited him to, to hang out with him and his new roommate, he felt the connection between them.

Taekwoon wasn’t very communicative; Hakyeon tried to pry some words out of him, but Taekwoon seemed content enough sipping at his latte while Hakyeon kept talking, and for the first time ever since he had known Hakyeon, Jaehwan just couldn’t keep up with him. He was too preoccupied stealing glances at Taekwoon who would, in return, keep his eyes on him when he thought Jaehwan didn’t notice.

They shared secret smiles and grimaces when Hakyeon wasn’t paying attention to them, too immersed in whatever story he was recounting, and when Hakyeon finally disappeared into the toilet, Taekwoon asked for his number in a low voice.

Jaehwan gave it to him and received the first text from him in the following two hours after they left the coffee shop, and he grinned to himself all night, not getting a wink of sleep and instead chatting with Taekwoon until dawn.


	2. II

For their third real date, Taekwoon took him to one of his favourite restaurants in downtown (he had seven, altogether), a run-down little eatery, assuring Jaehwan that they made the best mandu in the world, though, Taekwoon said, he had only eaten mandu in two restaurants apart from the one they were heading to, so it wasn't very convincing, but Jaehwan believed everything he said.

The mandu was quite mediocre in Jaehwan's opinion, but he gobbled up all of his portion, because Taekwoon was eating his own like he had been starving for weeks before, only filtering out a "so good" between bites every now and again. Taekwoon paid for their meal, and when Jaehwan told him he wouldn't have had to, Taekwoon only smiled.

Back out in the cold January weather, they kept walking side by side towards Jaehwan's dorm, deciding to get hypothermia together instead of taking the public transport. It was when they turned onto a street on the left that Taekwoon inconspicuously took Jaehwan's hand and laced his own cold, naked fingers with Jaehwan's gloved ones. Jaehwan promptly blushed at it and looked down at their joint hands, eyes flicking up at Taekwoon's face a moment later. Taekwoon was smirking.

They walked hand in hand all the way to the entrance of Jaehwan's dorm building, stopping under the streetlamp right in front of it. Jaehwan fidgeted, very unlike himself, but he didn't really want to let go of Taekwoon yet and wished they could spend the night together, walking in the streets even if it was freezing outside, and then spend the next day together again, eating Taekwoon's favourite mandu and talking about anime series. But from the way Taekwoon turned to him, with a sad smile on his face, Jaehwan already knew they would have to say goodbye soon until their next meeting.

"Thank you for tonight," Jaehwan said, trying not to sound disappointed by the fact that they’d have to separate. "And thank you for the dinner."

"Thank you for coming with me," Taekwoon replied. "I know a great place where they sell the best tteokbokki you can imagine. Let's go there next time."

"You really like to eat, huh?" Jaehwan laughed and Taekwoon's eyebrows twitched as he averted his eyes. "It's really heart-warming to watch you enjoy food so much."

Taekwoon looked back at him, the worry disappearing from his face when he saw Jaehwan's sincere smile. He let go of Jaehwan's hand and brought his hands up to cup Jaehwan's cheeks—one hand warm and the other icy. He leant in and kissed Jaehwan softly, his warm lips parting just a little when Jaehwan wrapped his arms around his waist timidly, not wanting to seem too eager even if his heart was about to explode. They kissed slowly at the base of the staircase leading to the entrance, Taekwoon's hands warming up on Jaehwan's cheeks, and only stopped when Taekwoon started to shake quite wildly. Taekwoon pressed his forehead to Jaehwan's then.

"Text me as soon as you get back home," Jaehwan told him.

"I will," Taekwoon replied, his right thumb brushing over Jaehwan's cheek gently. "Good night, Jaehwan."

"Good night."

Taekwoon kissed him again, briefly, and then Jaehwan let go of him, walking up the stairs and smiling back at Taekwoon one last time before opening the door and stepping inside.


	3. III

Jaehwan was quite nervous when they were standing in front of the gate leading to the campus of his new university, both he and Taekwoon wearing suits and dress shoes, and Jaehwan really didn’t feel ready to attend the freshmen’s ball yet.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, Taekwoon squeezing it lightly.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Jaehwan replied and took a deep breath.

He held Taekwoon's hand as they made their way into the main building, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible—not that anyone knew him there.

The dean made a speech, welcoming all the freshmen that were sitting in the front rows; girls in frilly cocktail dresses and boys dressed like a bunch of penguins, and Jaehwan felt a little suffocating in the middle of everything, drowning in the scary novelty of his surroundings. He glanced to the side and saw Taekwoon standing by the wall among the partners of the other freshmen, holding a glass of punch and smiling encouragingly at Jaehwan, jacket discarded and black shirt sleeves rolled up above his elbows, his eyes never leaving Jaehwan's face as if watching him from the background like Jaehwan's very own guardian angel. Jaehwan smiled back at him.

After the speech, the dj started playing the most awful pop songs ever, so Jaehwan took Taekwoon to the buffet where they had some of the small cupcakes and a beer each. They stood awkwardly in a faraway corner, people-watching, until Taekwoon suggested they went outside to get some fresh air.

Spring was approaching so it was almost warm outside, so much so that Taekwoon, who couldn’t really handle the cold, didn’t deem it necessary to go back inside to fetch his jacket.

“What’s wrong?” he asked once they were a reasonable distance away from the smokers, and stood behind the building, under the shadows of the surrounding trees. “You don’t seem to enjoy this whole thing.”

“I feel awkward,” Jaehwan said truthfully, leaning against the wall and looking up at Taekwoon. “Most of the people here seem to have already made friends and I feel like such an outsider.”

“Maybe it would be easier for you if I weren’t here.”

“No.” Jaehwan put his beer down on the ground and stepped closer, hugging Taekwoon to himself, burying his face into Taekwoon's neck and trying to become as small as possible, even though Taekwoon and he were pretty much the same height. “No, I want you to be here with me. I need you to be here.”

Taekwoon didn’t say anything, only let go of Jaehwan momentarily to put his own bottle of beer down, and then he hugged Jaehwan again, kissing his forehead. Then, Jaehwan kissed Taekwoon's jaw and ultimately his lips, and they ended up making out by the wall for the longest time Jaehwan had ever made out with anybody. By the time they stopped for air, Jaehwan's legs were aching and his lips tingling, and Taekwoon's previously artfully styled hair was messy, the top two buttons of his shirt undone and revealing some of his collarbones. Jaehwan supposed he looked similarly wrecked.

Taekwoon reached out and swept a lock of Jaehwan's hair back where it had broken free from, only for it to fall back into Jaehwan's eye when Taekwoon caressed his cheek.

“Did you know,” Taekwoon said quietly, “that you look like a prince right now?”

Jaehwan felt his face heat up as he laughed.

“I feel like anything but a prince,” he replied.

Taekwoon leant in and kissed the side of his neck, pulling Jaehwan close and holding him there as he whispered, “I’ll make you feel like that.”

And Jaehwan just smiled, with a hand in Taekwoon's hair, thinking it was a light-hearted joke.


	4. IV

“How does he want to do it?” Hakyeon asked, completely baffled. He turned his cup around in his hold, like seeing his own coffee from a different angle would help him understand the situation. “Renting an apartment on his own and offering to pay for your half as well—”

“I don’t know,” Jaehwan replied. “He told me to just… trust him.”

“Do you trust him?”

“More than anybody,” Jaehwan said without thinking. “But I don’t want him to get indebted just because he wants to make me happy.”

“I assume you’ve told him about this.”

“Of course… And he said he wouldn’t.” Jaehwan let out a sigh and looked down at his miserable, cold cappuccino. “He said he wouldn’t want to use someone else’s money to…” how did he say it? _‘To make you a prince.’_ “…to give me everything.”

“Well,” Hakyeon took a deep breath. “At this point, you know him way better than I do, Jaehwan. If you think you guys can make it, and if you’re really sure you can live together, then I see no problem here.”

“I know, it’s just… The job at the music store doesn’t pay so well and I’m worried that we’ll end up really broke.” Jaehwan dragged his hands over his face.

“You said he had some money in the bank, so— Jaehwan.” Hakyeon's eyes turned wide as he stared at Jaehwan's left wrist, jaw dropping. “Is that a Seiko watch?”

Jaehwan glanced at his wrist, suddenly remembering why he felt a weight on it. He pulled his hand back, letting the sleeve of his hoodie cover the watch, blushing, though he had no reason to do so.

“Those cost a fortune!” Hakyeon exclaimed and Jaehwan furrowed his brow, looking around to see people staring at them. Hakyeon toned it down a little. “Where did you get that from?”

“Taekwoon gave it to me,” Jaehwan mumbled.

“For your birthday?”

“No. He just gave it to me.” Jaehwan took a shuddery breath and looked at Hakyeon. “I saw it in a shop window the other day and said I liked it, and he bought it for me.”

It had been more than a week then, since Taekwoon had given him the watch, but Jaehwan still felt uncomfortable when he really thought about what wearing such a present meant. Jaehwan had 300 dollars’ worth of rosé gold coloured stainless steel, fine black leather, and crystal around his wrist and Taekwoon had buckled the clasp on it so nonchalantly he could have been gifting him a friendship bracelet made of yarn. Jaehwan had felt himself go pale at it, the shrimp pasta Taekwoon had cooked for him squirming inside his stomach as Taekwoon laughed at his flabbergasted expression and pressed a kiss to Jaehwan's nose.

“Well,” Hakyeon said, voice going a little weak. “That’s proof enough you won’t have problem with money.”

In that moment, the watch felt heavier on Jaehwan's wrist.


	5. V

Jaehwan never really condemned Taekwoon for his habit of smoking, or for the fact that you couldn’t just buy his kind of cigarettes at the local newsagent’s. It had taken him off guard when Taekwoon had first offered him to smoke a joint with him, but he hadn’t been against it, just like back in twelfth grade when Hakyeon and Wonshik had done the same.

So he would smoke with Taekwoon and afterwards sit on the black granite countertop in the kitchen, eating Froot Loops with pieces of a chocolate bar and banana milk from a bowl while Taekwoon leant against the wall by the open window with his eyes shut, keeping the smoke down as long as he could before exhaling. The most beautiful smiles would break out on his face, gentle and utterly happy, his cheeks bunching up until they looked perfectly round. He would push himself away from the wall and stick the stub of the joint under the running water in the sink before throwing it into the bin and stepping to Jaehwan to ask for a spoonful of his awfully elaborate meal.

“This is disgusting,” he said on more than one occasion, and Jaehwan always just laughed with his mouth full and Taekwoon joined him, the two of them a snickering, shaky mess.

They would have sex while high, countless of times, and Jaehwan would always laugh unnecessarily at the clumsy touches, his chuckles only dying in his throat when Taekwoon became just this side of too aggressive, pinning Jaehwan's hands down and fucking him without enough lube until it really hurt. Taekwoon would get more vocal at times and he’d say things that would have made Jaehwan horribly embarrassed had he been sober, choking on air when Taekwoon whispered about how tight he was and how good he felt, the words spilling from Taekwoon's mouth onto Jaehwan's heated skin.

Jaehwan never really questioned this habit of Taekwoon's, simply because he only did it occasionally and it never altered him significantly. He did ask Taekwoon where he got the weed from, the answer being "from a friend", and he told Taekwoon once to be careful, for which he earned a kiss on the shell of his ear.


	6. VI

The hotness woke Jaehwan, the blanket feeling like a plastic bag around his body. He slowly opened his eyes and was greeted by filtered sunlight coming in through white curtains, almost blinding him.

“Good morning,” Taekwoon said from where he was perched in the armchair with his legs pulled under him, a book resting against his thighs. He was wearing a black tank top and his favourite shorts, his raven hair looking freshly washed and soft, the ends still wet.

Jaehwan let out a miserable groan and curled in on himself, pulling the blanket over his head and  wanting to fall back into the abyss of dreams, but sleep was already slipping away from him as he heard the waves of the sea three storeys below them hit the nearby rocks.

There was rustling and then Taekwoon was lying next to him in bed, unwrapping Jaehwan like a present, holding him close to his chest.

“I’m sweaty,” Jaehwan murmured, pouting. “And gross.”

“You’re not gross,” Taekwoon said, stroking Jaehwan's hair. “Though you really are sweaty.”

Jaehwan grunted. “What time is it?” he asked.

“Almost noon.”

“Ugh. Sorry for sleeping in.”

“We’re on _holiday_ , Jaehwan,” Taekwoon smiled and took Jaehwan's chin between his fingers to tip his head up and press a short kiss to his lips. “Are you hungry?”

“I guess,” Jaehwan mumbled. “Not sure. Barely conscious.”

Jaehwan closed his eyes but heard Taekwoon's small exhale before he kissed Jaehwan gently, lowering him down on the mattress, unsuccessfully trying to wake him up entirely with the slowest of torturous kisses. He mouthed over Jaehwan's jaw, moving down to his neck and giving him small kitten licks followed by tiny bites of his teeth while his hand slid up under Jaehwan's T-shirt, resting on his stomach.

Taekwoon smelled of citrusy shower gel and minty shampoo, the scent of his favourite perfume becoming more and more intense as his heart started beating faster, and Jaehwan felt groggy from it like he would after a couple vodka shots. He really felt bad about not having taken a shower, but Taekwoon didn’t seem to mind, nuzzling Jaehwan's chest and dragging his fingers over the inner side of Jaehwan's left arm in feather-light motions, like it was just a butterfly fluttering its wings against Jaehwan's skin.

Taekwoon kept him between the states of being asleep and being awake for hours, making sweet love to him, whispering endearments and confessions into his ear and holding his hand, kissing the wrinkles between Jaehwan's eyebrows in an attempt to smooth them out. He let Jaehwan lie on the bed with his legs wrapped loosely around Taekwoon's waist, both of them drenched in sweat in the humid hotel room, and Jaehwan wanted to die right then and there, when he felt the happiest anyone could ever feel.

Taekwoon came first, but he dragged everything out so Jaehwan could shudder in his arms just a few minutes later, utterly spent, holding onto Taekwoon's shoulders for dear life, stomach twitching, his throat dry from heaving, and his heart about to explode inside his chest. Taekwoon kissed him then, deeply, like there was no tomorrow, drinking in the moans that still fell from Jaehwan's lips.

“I love you,” he whispered against the corner of Jaehwan's mouth, pecking it lightly. “I love you, my prince.”

Jaehwan mouthed it back, though he couldn’t speak, not with how much his throat hurt, but Taekwoon understood it anyway. He let go of Jaehwan and sat up in bed, reaching over to the nightstand to pour water from the jug into a glass, and while he busied himself with that, Jaehwan scooted closer to him, pushing himself up to be able to encircle Taekwoon’s naked torso with his arms, hugging him from behind. Taekwoon’s back was broad and warm, his skin damp, muscles and sinews stretching taut between sharp bones, the sight and feeling making Jaehwan unable to refrain from kissing a protruding vertebra. Taekwoon caressed his arm as he turned around halfway to give him the water and Jaehwan downed it all in one go, handing the glass back to Taekwoon afterwards.

“Taekwoonie,” he said, resting his chin on Taekwoon's shoulder. Taekwoon leant back against him, relaxing in Jaehwan's hold, indicating that he was listening. “You’re too good to me.”

Taekwoon snorted loudly like it was absolute ridiculousness, so Jaehwan carefully pinched the skin of his stomach, earning a yelp from Taekwoon.

“I’m being serious,” Jaehwan grumbled.

“Sorry,” Taekwoon said. “But I don’t really get your point.”

“We’re in Jeju,” Jaehwan stated.

“Astute observation.”

“No, you don’t get it!” Jaehwan let go of Taekwoon and turned him around so they could sit face to face, the blanket bunching between them. “ _We’re in Jeju_ ,” Jaehwan repeated. “You planned this whole trip in three days, and the tickets must’ve cost you an arm and a leg, not to mention this _five-star_ hotel.”

“Jaehwan,” Taekwoon said patiently, placing a hand on Jaehwan's knee. “I don’t get it.”

“I’m just saying,” Jaehwan sighed, “that you always buy me expensive gifts, but… I don’t need them, I don’t want you to spend so much money on me, I mean… this is fine because you wanted to relax a little, but… honestly. I’m not a real prince.”

“You are,” Taekwoon said, pecking Jaehwan's cheek and standing up. “To me, you are.”

Taekwoon put on his briefs and opened his fancy cigarette case, taking out a much less fancy joint he must have rolled hours before, and stepped out of the glass door leading to the balcony where he leant against the railing and clicked his lighter.

Jaehwan didn’t know what to say.


	7. VII

Jaehwan was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out at the night sky, at the orange hues of the skyscrapers’ light reflecting off the clouds, cars moving fast in the numerous lanes of the road beneath the building. He felt detached from the sight and wished he could fall asleep to wake up the next day with Taekwoon by his side, feeling his warm breath on his forehead.

There was a small tug of sharp canines on the back of his hand, and Jaehwan hissed, looking down at his lap where a beautiful snow Bengal kitten was curled up, looking up at Jaehwan with her almond-shaped, turquoise coloured eyes as if scowling because Jaehwan forgot to pet her.

“I’m sorry, Vanilla,” Jaehwan said, scratching behind her ear at which the kitten closed her eyes and started purring in a very satisfied manner. She laid her head on top of Jaehwan's thigh, a tiny sigh escaping her, and Jaehwan smiled down at the cat sadly. “You miss daddy, huh? I miss him too.”

Jaehwan glanced down at his phone, pressing a button for the screen to light up, informing him that it was half past one in the morning and that he had no missed texts or calls whatsoever. He stared at the lock screen: a picture of Taekwoon napping with Vanilla sprawling beside his head, her paw pressed against the tip of Taekwoon's nose. The screen went black again and Jaehwan felt sadness clawing at his insides, the worry tearing his heart apart.

“It’s just a few days,” Taekwoon had said, his fingers gently massaging Jaehwan's waist through his overlarge T-shirt as Jaehwan had been sitting in his lap, hands fiddling with the drawstring of Taekwoon's sweatpants. “Three or four, at most,” Taekwoon had continued. “I promise it won’t be long.”

“Where are you going, exactly?” Jaehwan had asked.

“I told you,” Taekwoon had replied, taking Jaehwan's hands into his own and lacing their fingers, “visiting a friend.”

“But where? Somewhere within the country or abroad?”

“Jaehwan-ah,” Taekwoon had said a little impatiently. “We’ve been over this.”

“I’m just,” Jaehwan had squirmed in Taekwoon's lap, “you… you’re not cheating on me, right?”

Taekwoon had smiled, but it hadn’t been real—it had looked bitter and regretful, making Jaehwan even more insecure than he had already been.

“You know you mean the world to me,” Taekwoon had answered and let go of Jaehwan's hands, instead pulling him close by the waist so he could kiss him while Jaehwan's fingers got lost in his black locks.

It had been five days since then.

His phone started ringing and Jaehwan jolted, dislodging Vanilla from his lap, earning a reproachful glare from the kitten before she jumped on the couch and curled up on it. There was no caller ID, but Jaehwan quickly answered his phone, pressing it hard to his ear.

“Hello?” he asked nervously.

“Jaehwan-ah,” Taekwoon's soft voice came, and Jaehwan felt his heart stop for a second before it started beating rapidly.

“Taekwoon,” he breathed and stood up, taking a step forward in the living room, though he didn’t know where to go. “Where are you?”

“Jaehwan-ah,” Taekwoon said again and his voice broke a little.

“When are you coming back home?” Jaehwan asked, fingers cramping around his phone. “Where… where are you?”

“Jaehwan-ah,” Taekwoon repeated, and Jaehwan heard him sniffle, and then he whispered, “I can’t go home.”


	8. Epilogue

In retrospect, everything was incredibly simple at the beginning.

That’s what Jaehwan thinks about, sitting with his back against the headrest of the king size bed, huddled up in one of Taekwoon's hoodies, Vanilla trying to accommodate her lengthy body on his thighs. He’s eyeing the piece of paper between his fingers, the edges of it are creased from how long he’s been holding it, but he’s not reading the letter anymore. He’s only staring at the messy handwriting, at the long lines and small curves put down with a pen that was already half empty, and thinks about the coming week, about how he’s going to get through it without Taekwoon, in a place that radiates Taekwoon from every corner.

In a week, he will see Taekwoon again, with several pairs of eyes watching their every move and just as many ears listening to every one of their words, the guards taking Taekwoon back to a small cell when the clock strikes the end of Jaehwan's two-hour visit. Until then, he needs to look for the comfort he can never find in Taekwoon's latest letter.

The silence is pressing down on his head, on his ears and on his chest; it was never oppressing when Taekwoon held him in his arms, when they stared at the ceiling together in bed and didn’t speak so as not to break the peace of the moment. Now, though… now that Taekwoon is locked up tens of miles away from him for something he only wanted to make Jaehwan happy with… now, the weight of the silence is cracking Jaehwan's bones.

Vanilla stretches her hind legs and Jaehwan runs his fingers through her fur absently.

“She’ll keep you company when I’m not here,” Taekwoon said, smiling bright at the way Jaehwan stared at the kitten in complete astonishment, holding her up to look at her pretty face.

“She looks so… luxurious,” Jaehwan said, adjusting his hold on Vanilla, so he could scratch the underside of her chin. Vanilla purred at him. “Like some kind of royal pet or something.”

“Suits you,” Taekwoon laughed and kissed Jaehwan's cheek. “She’s a Bengal. Heard they’re a little too playful, so be careful with her.”

“Thank you,” Jaehwan mumbled, nuzzling the top of Vanilla’s head, her fur soft and shiny like silk. “But Taekwoon,” Jaehwan looked up at Taekwoon standing by the kitchen counter, setting to brew himself some coffee, “you’re not going away for a long time, are you?”

Jaehwan thought he just imagined the way Taekwoon's hand shook when he placed a spoon into his mug a little too harshly, the metal clinking against the ceramic loudly.

“For a few days,” Taekwoon said, eyes cast down, watching his own hand as he poured the coffee into the mug. “Meeting up with an old friend from high school.”

He placed the carafe back under the coffee machine and placed two sugars into his mug, taking it from the counter as he stepped out of the kitchen and scratched Vanilla’s head while passing her and Jaehwan on his way into the living room.

“Come on,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “I bought her some toys.”

In retrospect, Jaehwan was the only one at fault.

He never asked why, never pressed Taekwoon to tell him more about whatever he was doing when he wasn’t at home or at the music store, never asked him how he could spend so much on Jaehwan.

“You deserve the best,” Taekwoon said quietly, sitting at the other end of the table in that awful uniform, holding Jaehwan's hand on the table top. He looked pale and there were deep dark shadows under his eyes, his hair lost its shine. “I just wanted to give you everything.”

He gave him presents and holidays, a beautiful place to live in, but, as he looks at the expensive watch on his wrist and at the gorgeous cat in his lap, as he looks around in the apartment his parents can only dream about after working so hard all their life—everything around Jaehwan seems to bear an invisible price tag with too many digits on them and in the end, he has lost his everything to a fishy business Jaehwan is sure Taekwoon didn’t go into willingly.

He never wanted to be a prince. He wanted to be with Taekwoon and struggle together, if they had to, but Taekwoon never even gave them the chance to try and build their life the hard way.

In retrospect, everything was unbelievably simple at the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to talk to me about any of my stories or just vixx in general on [tumblr](http://hongbab.tumblr.com/), [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/hongbab) or [aff](http://www.asianfanfics.com/profile/view/1061753) ♡ please support me on [ko-fi.com](https://ko-fi.com/hongbab) if you can ♡


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